Improvement in marking plug-tobacco



W. T. YARBROUGH. Marking Plug Toba0c0.

Pa-tnted June 25,1878..

mar/J6] UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE.

WVILLIAM T. YARBROUGH, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN MARKING PLUG-TOBACCO.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 205,460, dated June 25, 1878; application filed March 30, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Beitkn own that I, WILLLAMT. YARBROUGH, of the city of Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Method and Means for Marking and Laying Ofi' Plug-Tobacco; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object, first, to mark plug-tobacco so as to convey the manufacturers name or other mark to the consumer; s'ec ondly, to lay off plug-tobacco into sections of specific size and weight in such manner as to produce a visible guide whereby said sections may be cut from the plug, and whereby the necessity of first measuring the sections before cutting them from the plug is obviated; thirdly, in marking the plug of tobacco so laid off into sections in such manner that each section of said plug will bear the manufacturers name or mark; and to that end the invention consists, first, in a method of labeling plugtobacco by applying to one of the faces thereof a flexible label, held upon said plug by means of a wire staple arranged to straddle the label, both being permanently attached or made fast to the plug by the pressure employed in compressing said plug; secondly, in a method of laying off plug-tobacco into sections by applying to the plug a series of wires at suitable distances from each. other, said wires forming the guide by which the sections are out from the plug, the wires being permanently attached to the plug by the pressure employed to compress said plug; thirdly, in a method of labeling a plug of tobacco laid off into sections, as above referred to, by applying under each wire a flexible label, having on one of its faces the manufacturers name or mark in duplicate, and a space between said duplicate name or mark for the reception of the wires to hold said labels in position, both being permanently attached to the plug by the pressure employed to compress the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a section of a plug of tobacco marked according to my invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of a plug of tobacco laid off into sections and marked according to my invention and Figs.

3-and 4 represent slight modifications-of the wire staple.

A represents the plug of tobacco; B, the

both are then permanently attached by the pressure employed to compress said lump to the shape of a plug of tobacco. Although I prefer to apply the label and staple directly to the lump of tobacco, it is evident that these may be applied after said lump is shaped into a plug and before said plug is finished; or

they may be applied after the plug is finished and before being boxed.

When it is desired to lay off plug-tobacco into sections and provide a visible guide on the plng,or on one of the faces of the plug, whereby such sections may be cut from said plug, I apply to the luinp a series of wire staples, G, at suitable distances apart, which, when said lump is compressed into a plug, will form the section-lines,:and guides for the retailer to out by, thus avoiding the usual measuring of the part to be out.

In order that each of the sections will bear the manufacturers name or mark, I apply under each or under every alternate staple C a label, 13, which has imprinted on its' face the manufacturers name or mark. in duplicate, and a space between said duplicate marks for the passage of the retaining-wire, both the wire staple U and label B being permanently attached to the plug by the pressure employed to shape the lump into a plug of tobacco; or, as above stated, the labels B and staples (J may be applied after the lump is shaped and before it is finished, or after it is finished and before it is boxed.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown a sligh'tmo dification of the construction of the stapleO, which may be applied to the lump or plug of tobacco to hold the label 'or labels B in the manner as above set forth; and under some circumstances I may prefer to use said modified forms of staple to provide a guide and section-lines on both faces of the plug, for the purposes hereinbefore referred to, without departing from the peculiar nature of my invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The herein-described method of layingoff plug-tobacco into sections and labeling each section of said plug, which consists in first applying to the lump of tobacco a series of flexible labels and a series of wire staples arranged to straddle each or every alternate label, which latter are provided with duplicate marks and a space between such marks for the reception of the wire, and then securing them permanently in position by the pressure employed to compress said lump into a plug of tobacco, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

WILLIAM T. YARBROUGH.

Witnesses:

H. S. MCOANDLISH, JAs. A. RUYsTz. 

